However, Khalid Mahmood, Labour MP for Birmingham Perry Barr, said Mr Straw was wrong to accuse British Pakistani men of targeting white girls.

"To generalise in this stereotypical manner and castigate a whole community is not becoming of him," said Mr Mahmood.

"There are Asian men who will do the same thing to Muslim and Pakistani girls. They are indiscriminate and will take the chance wherever they can.

"Rather than just whinging about it, he should have sorted it out by educating his community over the last 30 years while he's been MP."

Mr Mahmood's criticism was echoed by Keith Vaz, chairman of the Home Affairs Select Committee, who said: "I don't think this is a cultural problem ... I don't think you can stereotype an entire community."

Mr Vaz added: "Why didn't Jack Straw say something about this? He has represented Blackburn for 31 years, he has been the home secretary."

However, Ann Cryer, the former Labour MP for Keighley, West Yorkshire, said Mr Straw should be commended for highlighting a problem that, she said, Muslim MPs were not prepared to confront.

"The vast majority of young Asian men are fine, but there's a minority who do not behave properly towards white women and sweeping it under the carpet will only make matters worse," she said.

"If these Asian men behaved in the same way to young Muslim girls they'd end up in very hot water in their community. That's why they turn to young white girls, because otherwise they'd be in big trouble."

Mrs Cryer, who campaigns for women's rights, said the leaders of their community should be telling them "this is no way for young Muslims to behave".

Douglas Murray, the director of the Centre for Social Cohesion, a think tank, also said that Muslim leaders needed to do more to question the attitudes of young Muslim men towards women.

He said: "Their views about women would horrify many people. They often regard women as second-class citizens, and white girls are regarded differently as acceptable prey in a way Muslim girls aren't."

Mr Murray added: "Of course this problem only relates to a minority of Pakistani men, but it is an issue that needs addressing and people like Keith Vaz are denying this."

Mr Straw made his comments on Newsnight on Friday night after Mohammed Liaqat, 28, and Abid Saddique, 27, were jailed for crimes including rape.

The judge in the case said he did not believe the crimes were "racially aggravated", adding that the race of the victims and their abusers was "coincidental".

"Pakistanis, let's be clear, are not the only people who commit sexual offences, and overwhelmingly the sex offenders' wings of prisons are full of white sex offenders.

"We need to get the Pakistani community to think much more clearly about why this is going on and to be more open about the problems that are leading to a number of Pakistani heritage men thinking it is OK to target white girls in this way."

Mr Straw called on the British Pakistani community to be "more open" about the issue.

He added: "These young men are in a western society, in any event, they act like any other young men, they're fizzing and popping with testosterone, they want some outlet for that, but Pakistani heritage girls are off-limits and they are expected to marry a Pakistani girl from Pakistan, typically.

"So they then seek other avenues and they see these young women, white girls who are vulnerable, some of them in care ... who they think are easy meat.

"And because they're vulnerable they ply them with gifts, they give them drugs, and then of course they're trapped."